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CEO Says Allstate
Adjusts Storm Plan

Personnel Can't Reach Heart
Of Disaster, So They Start
Claims Work at the Fringes

By

Theo Francis Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Updated Sept. 6, 2005 11:59 p.m. ET

Damage estimates for Hurricane Katrina have continued to mount, rising to more than $100 billion overall, with between $14 billion and $35 billion on the insurance industry's tab.

For insurance executives like Edward M. Liddy, chairman and chief executive of Allstate Corp., the extent of the devastation -- and the still imperfect information about just how much it will cost -- has meant rethinking their response to the storm.